The end of the semester is near! But before you can say goodbye to school for the summer, there are finals to be taken and papers to be finished. These can be stressful and overwhelming – but if you manage your time effectively you can keep your stress at bay and make the best of your final weeks at school! Here are six tips to successfully manage your time this finals season:
1. Plan your day out.
The night before a day of studying or paper writing, plan out the day. Schedule in everything you have to do and set a specific time to study or go to the library. That way you have no excuses but to get stuff done and won’t keep putting it off all day long. photo courtesy of: http://sisoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016-planner-download-printable-10-e1453402897369.jpg
2. Create a question document.
It’s inevitable that you will have some questions for your teacher when you start studying for your finals. Create a separate page on your laptop or notebook, and every time you get confused on something, write it on the document. You can easily email these questions to your professor or pull it out during class. Also, having everything you don’t understand on one-page written out will keep your questions from completely overwhelming you.
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3. Try the 10-Minute Trick.
Getting motivated to study or start a paper can seem impossible. Try starting the task for just 10 minutes. Tell yourself you can take a break after those 10 minutes and then get to it! Nine times out of ten, when those ten minutes are up, you’ll be in the grove of your task and won’t want to stop. Sometimes the act of just starting is harder than the actual task.
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4. Use a Timer.
Timing your studying is key! Take out your phone and set a timer for how long you’ll work. A classic study schedule is 50 minutes of work with a 10-minute break. But any combination that works for you is good! Set a timer next time you hit the library and watch your productivity skyrocket.
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5. Reward yourself.
Finals don’t have to be all work and no play! After a whole day of studying or a big test, grab a latte or an ice cream. Keeping a healthy balance of work and fun will keep you from getting burnt out and keep your stress down. Rewards can be small also! After 50 minutes of studying or writing, watch a 20-minute episode or call your mom. Treating yourself will only serve to benefit you, as long as you don’t go overboard!
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6. Go to a coffee shop.
There is something about a fun environment that really motivates me. Find a cute coffee shop in your town or even just a Starbucks, and set up your workspace there! It makes studying a bit more fun and when you take time out of your day to drive somewhere to study, it’s hard to procrastinate!
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